Glossary
Searchable terminology from accessibility, web standards, and related fields.
56 results found in Alternative Input.
- Gross Motor Movement (Gross Motor Skills, Gross Motor Control)
- Large body movements involving the major muscle groups of the arms, legs, and torso, as opposed to fine motor movements that require precise control of small muscles in the fingers and hands. In assis…
- Hands-Free Interface (Hands-Free Computing, Hands-Free Input)
- A hands-free interface is a computer interaction system that does not require the use of hands or fingers, enabling users to control software through alternative input channels such as head movements,…
- Haptic Input (Haptic Interaction, Touch Input)
- Haptic input refers to interaction methods that use the sense of touch to communicate information between a user and a computer system. This includes devices such as data gloves, force-feedback contro…
- Head Control (Head-Controlled Interface, Head Mouse, Head Pointer)
- An alternative computer input device that translates head movements into cursor movements on screen, enabling people who cannot use their hands or arms to operate a computer. Head control systems typi…
- Head Pointing (Head-Controlled Pointing, Head Mouse)
- Head pointing is an alternative input method that maps head movements to cursor position on a computer screen, enabling hands-free mouse control. The user moves their head to direct the cursor, with t…
- HeadMaster (HeadMaster Plus)
- An early head-pointing assistive technology device developed by Prentke Romich Company that translates head movements into mouse cursor movements on screen. The HeadMaster uses an ultrasonic sensor wo…
- Humming Interface (Control-by-Humming, Hum-Based Interface)
- A human-computer interaction method that uses hummed pitch patterns as control signals for operating devices. In a humming interface, a pitch detection algorithm analyses the user's hummed input, segm…
- Isotonic Joystick (Displacement Joystick, Free-Moving Joystick)
- An isotonic joystick is a type of joystick input device that moves freely in response to applied force and returns to a centre position when released. Unlike isometric (force-sensing) joysticks that r…
- Keypad (Numeric Keypad, Phone Keypad, Small Keypad)
- A keypad is a compact input device with a small number of keys, typically arranged in a 3x4 grid (phone keypads) or other constrained layouts. In accessibility contexts, keypads are relevant both as t…
- MIDI Controller (MIDI Input Device)
- A hardware device that generates MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) messages to control music software or sound modules without being a traditional musical instrument. MIDI controllers includ…
- Makey Makey
- A small electronic invention kit that uses alligator clips to connect everyday conductive objects — fruit, foil, playdough, drawn pencil lines — to a computer, which sees them as keyboard presses or m…
- Mapping by Demonstration
- A personalisation technique for gestural and sensor-based interfaces in which the system learns the relationship between user input (movement, breath, gaze) and output (sound, visuals, commands) from …
- Marking Menu (Pie Menu, Radial Menu)
- A marking menu is a radial (pie-shaped) menu that can be operated in two modes: a beginner mode that displays labelled wedges around the cursor for the user to aim at, and an expert mode that lets an …
- Morse Code (Morse Code Input)
- A communication system that encodes text characters as sequences of short signals (dots) and long signals (dashes). Originally developed for telegraphy, Morse code has found significant application in…
- Mouse Alternative (Alternative Pointing Device, Mouse Replacement)
- A mouse alternative is any input device or technique that lets a user perform pointer-control tasks — moving a cursor, clicking, dragging, selecting — without using a conventional mouse. For people wi…
- Mouse Emulation (Mouse Simulation, Virtual Mouse)
- Software or hardware that simulates mouse pointer movement, clicks, and other mouse actions using alternative input methods such as head tracking, eye gaze, joysticks, switch scanning, keyboard comman…
- Mouth Interface (Mouth-operated interface, Mouth-based input)
- An input modality that uses mouth movements - tongue position, cheek puffs, jaw motion, lip gestures, breath, or sip-and-puff - to control a computer, wheelchair, or XR system. Mouth interfaces serve …
- Mouth Joystick (Lip Joystick, Mouth-Operated Joystick)
- An assistive input device controlled by the user's mouth, lips, or tongue that functions as a pointer or gamepad joystick. The user moves a small stick held between the lips to direct cursor or on-scr…
- Multitouch Surface (Multi-Touch Interface, Multitouch Interface, MTS)
- A multitouch surface is an input device that uses optical or capacitive sensors to detect and track multiple simultaneous finger contacts on a flat surface. Unlike conventional touchpads that rely on …
- Muscle-Computer Interface (MCI (Muscle-Computer Interface), EMG Interface)
- An input modality in which signals generated by muscle contractions — typically recorded via surface electromyography (sEMG) sensors worn on the forearm or other muscle group — are interpreted by a co…